WPY 2012

Last look

This is a very special tiger. He is one of fewer than 400-500 wild, critically endangered Sumatran tigers. It was a huge challenge for Steve to photograph one, as those that have escaped poaching and forest clearance are mostly confined to patches of forests or the mountains and are extremely shy. A former tiger hunter, now employed as a park ranger, advised Steve where to set up his camera trap. But the challenge remained to position the remote-control camera and the lights in exactly the right position so the tiger would be lit centre-stage in front of a backdrop of forest habitat. The seemingly unstoppable growth of oil-palm plantations in Sumatra and continuing poaching for body parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine indicate that this subspecies of tiger is destined to become extinct in the wild, as have its Javan and Balinese relatives.

A burning issue

This is one of the main reasons for the likely extinction of the Sumatran tiger: legal and illegal forest clearance (here in Aceh Province, northern Sumatra) to make way for oil-palm plantations. Palm oil is a ubiquitous ingredient in about one in ten of the products we buy, including biscuits, cereals, chocolate, toothpaste and cosmetics. It is also used as a biofuel. Industrial-scale plantations now cover much of the island, and forest clearance is continuing, even in protected areas.

Little victim

A snare cost this six-month-old Sumatran tiger cub not only its right front leg but also its freedom. Caught in a snare for three days, it had to have its limb amputated. Now it lives in a cage in a Javan zoo. Snares commonly catch cubs in Sumatra. They are often set by Javan oil-palm-plantation workers living on forest plots. The workers’ wages are low, and they won’t see a return on any oil palms they plant on their land for at least five years and so are forced to catch forest animals to feed their families. Tigers are also being snared deliberately.

Dangerous crossover

This young Bengal tiger triggered Steve’s camera trap as it crossed through a hole in the fence at Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was almost certainly setting off to hunt local livestock. Some parts of the park have insufficient prey for the big cats, and so park officials have deliberately made holes in the fence so that the tigers can venture out to find food elsewhere. Here in Bandhavgarh, villagers get compensated for any livestock losses. But the result of tigers moving out can be disastrous. Last year, three tigers, including this tiger and his sister, killed three people from one village. Conflict will increase as the tigers’ habitat shrinks and the human population increases.

Tiger defenders

In the early 1990s, the demand for tiger parts to satisfy the traditional Chinese-medicine market grew exponentially, fuelling an illicit, multimillion-dollar trade run by arms and drug dealers. The situation has grown so dire that Thailand and some other nations are now using armed commandos to protect tiger reserves. Here, at Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, which still contains Indochinese tigers, rangers are cleaning their weapons before going on patrol. This Smart Patrol Ranger group is part of a new protection force trained by the military and police, which has had some success in stemming the trade in endangered animals into Burma and China.

Little cub of hope

An Indochinese tiger cub, captured with its mother, is here being weighed and measured and its DNA sampled by Thai tiger-team staff at Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. It was released back into the sanctuary with its mother, who was given a satellite collar so their movements could be tracked. The endangered Indochinese tiger needs all the help it can get. Its population is declining and fragmented and is now substantially below 2,500 throughout its range, with no population larger than 250 (there are fewer than 185 tigers in Thailand). It will soon be classified as critically endangered, along with the Sumatran tiger and the South China tiger (now almost certainly extinct).

Photograph Details

Winner 2012

Wildlife Photojournalist Award

Steve Winter, USA

The Tiger's Tale

'My aim with this story', says Steve, a photojournalist shooting for National Geographic, 'was to try to document the beauty of tigers, the serious threats they face and the heroic efforts to protect them.' Despite millions of dollars spent on tiger conservation over four decades, tiger numbers continue to plummet. Fewer than 3,200 remain in the wild, the majority in India.

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Steve Winter, USA

Steve became a National Geographic photojournalist in 1991, realising his childhood dream. He specialises in wildlife, especially big cats (his latest book is on tigers). A previous winner of Wildlife Photographer and Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year, he lectures globally on photography and conservation issues, concerned about the natural world, its people and cultures.